Weekly Off-season League Updates, 11/25/12

It’s another edition of our weekly off-season league updates. Check it out, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents participating in various autumn and winter league action. Stats are current through games on Saturday.

Mexican League-

Catcher Sebastian Valle (pictured, left) is batting .214 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI in 17 games with Los Mochis. The righty hitting Valle, 22, was an All-Star in the Double-A Eastern League in 2012 prior to earning a promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Venezuelan League-

Darin Ruf wrapped up his time with the La Guaira last week. The 26-year-old Creighton product posted a .258 batting average with 10 HR and 27 RBI in 32 games for the Tiburones. Ruf, a 20th round draft choice from 2009, made his big league debut with the Phillies in September and batted .333 with two doubles, a triple and three home runs in 12 games.

Righty reliever Justin Friend has a 3-1 record along with one save and a 5.19 ERA in 20 outings for La Guaira. Friend, 26, was an All-Star closer for Double-A Reading in the Eastern League in 2012.

Michael Cisco has tallied a 3-1 record with a 5.14 ERA in 16 games (one start) with La Guaira. Cisco put together a 5-3 record with three saves and a 1.80 ERA in 40 combined outings with Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley this year. The 25-year-old right-hander was a 36th round draft selection by the Phillies in 2008.

J.C. Ramirez is 2-0 with a 7.71 ERA through seven relief outings for La Guaira. The 24-year-old righty pitched exclusively as a reliever in the Phillies system this year, sporting a 3-4 record with a 4.01 ERA and a .230 batting average against in 45 games at Double-A and Triple A.

Freddy Galvis has a .314 batting average with five doubles, two triples, two home runs and 20 RBI in 35 games played for Zulia. Galvis’ splits vs. righties in the VZ League- .340/.374/.574. Galvis vs. lefties in the VZ League- .261/.286/.304. The 23-year-old switch-hitter left Zulia’s game against La Guaira after 1 1/2 innings on Friday for undisclosed reasons and did not play on Saturday.

Cesar Hernandez (pictured, right) is batting .238 with two doubles, two triples and a homer along with seven RBI in 24 contests for Margarita. Additionally, Hernandez’s 10 stolen bases are tied for the league lead. A second baseman, Hernandez was an All-Star with Reading this year prior to earning a promotion to Triple-A. The switch-hitting 22-year-old posted a .291/.329/.404 line in 133 combined regular season games in 2012.

Also with Margarita, shortstop Edgar Duran is batting .299 with five doubles, one homer and eight RBI in 26 games. Duran, a 21-year-old switch-hitter should see time next year with Double-A Reading after posting improved offensive numbers (OPS at Class A Advanced Clearwater was 88 points higher this year than his mark in Class A Lakewood in 2011).

Manaure Martinez, a 20-year-old righty has a 1-1 record with a 3.68 ERA and a .321 batting average against in six relief outings for Aragua. Martinez, who hasn’t appeared in a game since October 27th, spent time during the 2012 regular season with the Gulf Coast League Phillies and the short-season Williamsport Crosscutters.

Yoel Mecias, a left-hander hurler, has appeared in one game, recording a scoreless 1/3 of an inning for Aragua. The 20-year-old was signed by the Phillies in December 2010 and made his pro debut with the Gulf Coast League Phillies (0-2, 2.16 ERA in 14 games) this year.

First baseman Cody Overbeck is batting .118 with one RBI through five games. The 26-year-old Overbeck, who was the Phils’ 9th round draft pick in 2008, posted a .716 OPS in 133 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley this year.

Infielder Andres Blanco, who played in 120 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley this year, is batting .167 with a double, a triple and four RBI in 19 games for Magallanes. Blanco, 28, has not appeared in a game since November 4th.

Dominican League-

Infielder Michael Martinez has posted a .121 average with a double and six RBI in 12 games for Oriente. The 30-year-old Martinez appeared in 45 games while batting .171 with the big league Phillies in 2012.

Righty hitting outfielder Leandro Castro is batting .217 with no extra base hits and two RBI in 18 games with Oriente. Castro, 23, batted .287 with 10 homers and 71 RBI in 133 games and was an All-Star for Double-A Reading this year.

Lisalverto Bonilla (pictured, left) is sporting a 1-4 record with one save and an 8.71 ERA in 11 relief appearances for Escogido. The 22-year-old righty posted a 1.55 ERA in 31 combined relief appearances with Clearwater and Reading during the 2012 regular season, but injured himself while horsing around at the MLB All-Star Futures Game festivities in July, then missed the remainder of the regular season.

Righty pitcher Juan Morillo has a 3.18 ERA and no decisions in five relief outings for Escogido. Morillo, a 29-year-old, pitched for both Reading and Lehigh Valley in 2012, posting a combined 1-2 record with a 5.34 ERA and a poor 67/55 strike out to walk ratio in 40 appearances.

Right-hander Hector Neris had one rough outing for Este in which he surrendered three earned runs in 2/3 inning. That poor effort has Neris’ ERA sitting at 9.00 through four appearances. The 23-year-old righty posted a 4-2 record with a 3.55 ERA in 50 games for Class A Advanced Clearwater this year.

Lefty hurler Raul Valdes has posted a 0-1 record with a 4.91 ERA while striking out 12 and walking four in 11 innings pitched for Este. Valdes, who turns 35 years old this week, had a 2.90 ERA in 27 games with the Phillies this year.

Catcher Steven Lerud is 5-for-13 (.385 avg) with a home run and three RBI in six games for Este. Lerud, 28, was 2-for-10 in three big league games with the Phillies this year.

Third baseman Maikel Franco has appeared in only one game for Cibao, striking out in his lone at bat. The 20-year-old slugger batted .280 while slugging 14 home runs and driving in 84 runs with Class A Lakewood during the 2012 regular season.

Right-hander Juan Sosa has allowed three earned runs in two innings (13.50 ERA) of work for Licey. The 23-year-old had a 5-7 record with four saves and a 4.26 ERA in 46 games (five starts) for Clearwater this year.

Puerto Rican League-

Julio Rodriguez (pictured, right) has a 1-0 record with a 3.18 ERA in three games for Carolina. The 22-year-old has also struck out six and walked none in 5 2/3 innings. In 29 games (22 starts) for Reading in 2012, Rodriguez was 7-7 with a 4.23 ERA and 9.13 K/9.

Australian League-

Tim Kennelly has posted a .250 average with a double and two RBI in four games as an offensive player for Perth. Meanwhile, the 26-year-old has allowed three earned runs in two innings of work (13.50 ERA) on the mound.

With Brisbane, infielder Carlos Alonso is batting .143 with no extra base hits and one RBI in eight games. The 24-year-old University of Delaware product was the Phils’ 32nd round draft pick in 2010.

Catcher Liam Bedford is 1-for-13 (.077 avg) with an RBI in six games for his hometown Melbourne Aces. The 19-year-old was signed by the Phillies in May of 2011 and batted .130 in 19 games with the Gulf Coast League team during the 2012 season.

I plan to talk with him about his progress in the coming weeks. He played a big majority of his VZ League games in left field. He’s a capable athlete and he knew exactly what he needed to work on and adjust to in the OF, when I last spoke to him in September. I trust that he’ll be ready to hold it down and do a respectable job out there next year.

Charlie’s interview on XM Radio last Wednesday gave his glove skills a major vote of confidence, too. He said something to the effect that he gets all the balls that are hit to him and that he has very sure hands.

Yeah. Ruf’s main goal was to improve his reaction times and ability to read balls off the bat from a new angle. I saw an instance or two this season for Reading where a more experienced eye would have helped him (and the team) in LF.